The Transformation
by Ceu Praca
Summary: I have my own views on the Zelda/Sheik controversy. In my world, Sheik and Zelda are two separate people. This oneshot explains how that is actually possible. If you guys flame this, there will be consequences. I know the canon story, but I'm going against canon in this.


Dedicated to God Almighty, as well as to Roderik, who has given me so much support for my random writing ideas. Thanks for putting up with my insanity. XD

Okay, so this is a really, really random oneshot. Think of it as a deleted scene from my one story _Dragon Sword_. I have my own ideas on the whole Sheik/Zelda controversy, so no flaming, or you will receive a 500-word-lecture from me. I'm not joking. It was _Sheik_ who taught Link the temple songs. This is my explanation to how Sheik and Zelda are two separate people.

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**Transformation: How It Really Happened**

"He is going to the castle?!" Zelda exclaimed. "But, Sheik, he is not nearly strong enough to defeat Ganondorf; not yet!"

"The young hero is far more stubborn than even Impa was."

"Can't you stop him?"

"He may heed my advice when I give it, but he will not be swayed. He is currently on his way to the Temple of Time."

She bit her lip, looking worried. "There's no way he can beat Ganon unless he has the Light Arrows."

"Give them to me, then, and I shall deliver them to him."

"No!"

I took a step back, mildly startled by her outburst. "Is there a problem with me giving him the only weapon that can halt Ganondorf's strength, Princess?"

She immediately looked apologetic, taking a step forward. "Sorry, Sheik. But no, I…I have to give them to him personally. There's something I need to tell him."

I forced myself to keep my temper under control. _Confound the princess and her silly romance! If only she knew the truth, that the hero is more concerned with the ranch girl than her. _"If you leave the protection of this place, you will be in danger of being discovered by Ganon's spies. And he is headed to the temple for the sole purpose of finding me. Besides the obvious fact that you would need to make your way through the market square, which is filled with ReDeads."

"I have to talk to him before he faces the dark lord! Please, Sheik, let me go! This is something that I need to do!"

"And how do you know that he will not resent you if you reveal yourself to him? He has already blamed himself for the dark lord's rise to power. He may also hold you accountable."

She flinched. "I already hold myself accountable. There is nothing he can say to me that I haven't already thought about myself. Please, you have to help me reach him. I need to, in case…"

"In case of what?" I hissed, aggravated.

"In case he doesn't make it back safely," she whispered, a single tear making its way down her face. "I already made the mistake of waiting too long to tell someone how much I cared about them. I can't make that mistake again."

I glared at her, but, to my annoyance, I felt my resolution weakening in the face of her sorrow. "Impa knew full well just what she meant to you, Princess."

"You're just saying that."

"No, I am not."

She trembled. "I can't let him face Ganon without first telling him how much he means to me."

I sighed. "I, too, regret not having spoken to Impa before she left for the Shadow Temple. You cannot let your personal feelings get in the way of this. We must destroy Ganondorf at any cost."

"Sheik, please, just let me go to him!"

I realized now that, after Impa had died, the young princess had latched onto me as her protector. _I already have my hands full keeping watch over Link. Having to watch out for Zelda is a bit much. There is nothing I can do about it, though._ My resolve crumbled against my will, and I glowered at her. "Very well, you may go to him. But only if you go in disguise."

She looked bewildered. "But…what could I possibly disguise myself as? I'm too short and skinny to pass off as a warrior, and if I dress up as one of the monsters, Link would just kill me on sight."

_Dress up as one of the monsters? Honestly, Princess, where do you get these ideas?_ She had a point, though. There weren't many disguises she could pull off. In fact, there was only one. But that one was a disguise that I did _not_ approve of. _There is no other way, though._ I sighed yet again. "There is _one_ guise that you could wear successfully. You and I are the same height."

Zelda looked confused, then I began unraveling the bandages from my arms, legs, and head, piling them carefully on the floor before delicately untying the bandages on my fingers. She frowned at me, folding her arms across her chest. "Are you trying to tell me that I could disguise myself as you?"

"It would certainly fool Ganondorf. Besides the fact that Link was never supposed to know of my existence in the first place. This is a way to get you close to him, all the while erasing any thoughts he has of my being a real person. It would be better, for his sake, if he thought that I were you to begin with."

She scowled. "I don't approve of lying to him."

"All you have to do is reveal your face, and he will jump to all of the most obvious conclusions. You do not have to lie to him. Starflare may present a problem, though. It will be harder to convince him."

"Who the heck is Starflare?"

"He was once one of Hyrule's soldiers, but he became a lone swordsman after Ganon's rise to power. Try not to show surprise when you see him; I gave him the Dragon Sword."

"_What_? Why?"

"Do you not remember Impa's words? 'The one born on the night of the flaring star is fated to destroy the Dark One.' I am certain that this man has a role in Ganondorf's demise."

She frowned, cocking her head, and I went into a small side chamber and changed into normal clothes, going back out and holding my dark blue bodysuit out to her. Zelda stared at my hand as though I were offering her a skulltula, but, slowly, she reached out and took it. "How am I supposed to imitate you? Your accent is pretty distinctive, and I'm sure I won't be able to talk like you."

"Let us work on perfecting your appearance before we concern ourselves with your voice," I told her, secretly amused as I turned away from her pointedly.

After a few seconds, I heard her grunt, and I turned back to her, seeing that she was now wearing my bodysuit, her brow furrowed. "Sheik, how can you even breathe in this? I feel so constricted!"

"You will get used to it." I surveyed her thoroughly. _That will never do; her figure is visibly that of a female._ "Hold our your hands," I commanded.

After a moment's hesitation, she obeyed, and I tied the small bandages around her fingers, then wrapped her arms in the larger ones. She gave a wry smile. "I need to work on perfecting the art of being 'you,' don't I?"

She flexed her hands, obviously trying to get used to it, but I didn't allow her time to do so as I picked up the largest of the bandages. "Do not react strongly to this, Zelda. I apologize in advance, but this is definitely necessary, otherwise your disguise will be seen through immediately."

"What do you mean?" she asked blankly.

I rolled my eyes, then reached out and wrapped the bandages tightly around her chest, eliciting a startled gasp from the princess. She looked about to punch me, but calmed down once she realized that I was enjoying this even less than she. "And I thought I couldn't breathe properly before," she muttered, her voice strained.

I stepped back a moment to observe my handiwork; with the exception of her face, she didn't look female anymore, unless you counted the fact that she was a lot thinner than me. I just hoped Link wouldn't notice the difference immediately. _Now I just need to alter her face. I can change her eye color using a glamor, but her hair…_

"Do not get angry, Zelda, but this is also necessary."

"Sheik, what could you possibly do to me that would be worse than that last invasion of my personal space?"

"A violation of your personal appearance," I muttered, unsheathing one of my two knives. She gasped, her eyes widening in alarm, and I lunged, wrapping one arm around her waist to keep her from escaping. "I am sorry, Princess, but this must be done."

She struggled violently. "Let go of me!"

I moved my grip from her waist to her hair, casing her to yelp as I wrenched her head back and whipped my knife through her long, golden tresses, severing the braid. She staggered away from me, pressing her back against the wall, her blue eyes filled with fear.

I made no move to approach her again as I sheathed my knife, dropping her braid to the floor. "Again, I am sorry. Forgive me, but Link would have seen through the deception immediately if I had done otherwise."

Gradually, her breathing returned to normal, but she still looked wary. "Couldn't you have told me first?"

"You never would have agreed."

"You're right on that one." She smiled ruefully, reaching up to lightly touch her hair, which was now short and scruffy, sticking out at odd angles: exactly like my hair.

"I will also need to alter your eye color."

She glared at me. "Will it be reversible?"

"Yes, of course. Hold still, please." I moved toward her and reached out, summoning the magic and touching her face, allowing the spell to flow out of me and into her. I watched as her pale blue irises slowly changed to scarlet, and she blinked, frowning.

"Is the spell done? I don't feel any different."

"I would be concerned if you _did_ feel different afterwards." _There is only one thing left._ I took the remaining bandages and wrapped them gently around her neck and head, pulling the veil up to cover all but her eyes. A few strands of her hair poked through, and I pulled some more locks of hair down to cover her left eye.

I stepped back and surveyed her. _Perfect._ Her right eye was the only part of her that was still visible, and it felt strange to be staring at someone who looked identical to me. I smiled. "I think even Impa would be fooled by you now."

"How can I disguise my voice, though?"

"We shall work on that on our way to the Temple of Time. Let us go now." I gave her my belt and twin knives, and she strapped them to her waist carefully.

She chuckled. "Are you going to give me your lyre, too?"

"Thank you for reminding me." I reached forward and opened the enchanted pouch that was on the belt, taking out my golden lyre. "You are definitely _not_ allowed to have this."

"Dang it!"

"I would respond to a denial like that with the words 'how disappointing,'" I told her smugly, tucking the lyre into the crook of my arm and leaning against the wall.

"Oh, yes. Tell me, pray, what other ancient syllables shall I utter to fool the young hero?" she said, managing to imitate my accent _almost_ perfectly.

"You need to lower your voice and add more inflection," I advised. "Try to avoid the ReDeads in your way through. I will be there, watching, but I cannot reveal myself. Remember: Link must not know that you and I are separate people."

She nodded, and I gazed steadily at my reflection before turning and slipping quietly into the shadows.

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A/N: In my imagination, Sheik's relationship to Zelda is that of a big brother. He was raised by Impa, as was she, so they are close to each other, but not in a romantic way. This was just something that I wrote to answer the question 'if they are two separate people, how did Zelda manage to disguise herself as Sheik?' Well, hopefully this answers that. XD


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